BETHLEHEM Jerusalem shift looms large for Christmas plans
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital looms large in Christmas festivities this year in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Some food vendors, sellers of holiday trinkets and a leading hotelier in biblical Bethlehem say Palestinian protests, triggered by what many here view as a provocative show of pro-Israel bias, have hurt their Christmas business.
Yet Bethlehem also offers a stage for a Palestinian rebuttal: banners proclaiming Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine have been draped over facades on Manger Square as a backdrop for Christmas TV broadcasts to a global audience.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is keenly felt — perhaps even more so at Christmas — in Bethlehem, just a few miles south of contested Jerusalem.
Israel’s West Bank separation barrier cuts into Bethlehem and a segment of it has become a tourist magnet in its own right. Its cement slabs are covered with works by international graffiti artists such as Banksy and pro-Palestinian slogans left by visitors.
While Palestinians try to draw attention to the barrier when foreigners pour in for Christmas, Trump’s policy shift on Jerusalem two weeks ago has emerged as the dominant theme this year.
It went against an international consensus that the fate of the city should be determined in negotiations. Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem houses major Muslim, Jewish and Christian shrines, and Palestinians seek it as a future capital.
In Bethlehem, the fallout was felt immediately.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was to have received Vice President Mike Pence, a devout Christian, in Bethlehem, but canceled after the U.S. pivot on Jerusalem. The snub came as Abbas shifted from cooperating with the United States to rejecting Washington as a Mideast peace broker.
Meanwhile, Bethlehem’s flagship luxury hotel, the 250bed Jacir Palace, closed because of frequent nearby clashes.
General manager Marwan Kittani said the hotel had been fully booked for Christmas, but that he is now assessing day by day if he can reopen.
Palestinian activists have called for more protests.
In Manger Square, next to the Church of the Nativity built over Jesus’ traditional birth grotto, some merchants blamed Trump for a drop in business.
Two souvenir shop owners selling nativity scenes and tree decorations carved from olive wood said they hadn’t had any customers by early afternoon.
Activists also plan to circulate a petition to Christmas visitors in support of Palestinian claims to Jerusalem and distribute stickers reading: “We (heart) Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine,” said organizer Munther Amira.